


The Assassin’s Curse

by jessesoftie



Category: Minecraft: Story Mode - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Female Jesse, Harper (Minecraft) - Freeform, Ivor (Minecraft) - Freeform, Jesstra, Jetra - Freeform, Lowkey shipping, Lukas (Minecraft) - Freeform, MCSM - Freeform, Mcsm season three, Minecraft Story Mode - Freeform, Radar (Minecraft) - Freeform, Slow Burn, hints - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-11-01 20:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17874383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessesoftie/pseuds/jessesoftie
Summary: “Her fingers… is that cobblestone?!”Following the events of MCSM: Season 2, legendary heroes Jesse and Petra race against time to find the cure to a strange curse finally revealed. Will Jesse become a statue of diorite? Who is this mysterious Assassin? And what crazy adventure will Jesse, Petra, and Lluna be whisked into now?Updates every Wednesday, read on Wattpad for better quality + illustrations!





	1. Chapter One

Important choices to note: Petra was saved over Gabriel in Episode 1; Jesse took Magnus’s armor and Magnus died; Petra was chipped by PAMA longer than Lukas was; Jesse left Beacontown with Petra at the end of MCSM: Season Two. This is also a slight AU where Xara tried to kill Romeo at Beacontown, and he killed her as in the game, and then Romeo blew up Champion City as another “example.” So both Xara and Champion City are gone.

 

JESSE

“Yah!!” I sliced the last zombie and ran up to the podium where our latest treasure lay. Petra and I have been adventuring for a while now, I thought, but with Lluna finding new treasures every week it never gets dull. 

“What is it?” Petra asked, coming up behind me.

“Looks like some sort of chestplate,” I said.

I ran my fingers over the embedded diamonds. Lluna trotted up from behind me, looking expectant.

“Good job, girl,” I said as I scratched her under the chin. “I gotta hand it to you, you always find the best stuff.”

I turned back to the podium where the armor sat and noticed a note on the front. I picked it up and read:

“The armor of the Assassin?” I looked back down at the colorful armor, all purples and blue diamonds and green emeralds.

“Doesn’t seem very stealthy to me,” Petra said.

“Well, ‘assassiny’ or not-” I picked it up- “it’s mine now!”

I slid it on over my overalls. It fit surprisingly well. 

“Looks good,” Petra commented. “Like it was made for you.”

“That’s… creepy.” I stood still for a moment to confirm my suspicions. Yep, that’s a problem. The armor felt like it was squeezing me methodically. 

“It’s like it’s… pulsating,” Petra said.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said. “Let’s head over to Beacontown and get Ivor’s opinion on it. At the last village we visited, I heard that he’s gotten back from his travels.”

“Big, shiny, impressive…” Petra laughed. “It does seem like the type of thing he’d like.”

“Then let’s go!” I drew my sword and ran out of the room, ready to fight through the mobs.

 

PETRA

“Man is it great to see sunlight again,” Jesse said, climbing out of the temple.

“It is nice to be in the sun again,” I agreed. “Though judging by our track record, we’ll be in another cold and creepy temple in about a week.” 

Laughing, we began to hike through the jungle. I took out my shears to hack a path back to civilization. 

“I think I recognize this jungle!” Jesse exclaimed. “I saw a tree that had leaves like looked like smiley faces a while back!”

“I don’t remember anything like that…” I muttered while Lluna brayed in agreement.

“It must’ve been when Ivor lead Soren, Olivia, Lukas, Gabriel and I to the Far Lands,” she said. “Reuben couldn’t stop grunting at all the ocelots in the trees.”

“Wonder if Lukas took off his precious jacket,” I joked. “Jungles can get pretty hot in the summer!”

“They can be pretty hot in the winter too.” Jesse stopped walking and leaned against a tree. “Is it just me, or is it really warm in this biome?”

“Take this.” I tossed her a water bottle and she immediately swigged it down. “I feel fine, it’s almost chilly actually- JESSE!”

I ran over to her slumped body and shook her a little.

“That… did nothing.” I mumbled as I tried to think what to do. She’s not a pile of inventory, so she’s not dead… maybe poisoned? She IS breathing kind of weirdly.

I grabbed a bucket of milk from my inventory and forced it down her throat. Her breathing eased up some, but she still looked pretty bad.

I gotta find shelter before nightfall! I began to look around frantically for any sign of something we could use. Lluna nudged me and brayed, then began to walk away. I heaved Jesse onto my back and followed the llama to a nearby cave. 

“Wouldya look at that, you did it again girl!” I scratched her between the ears and set out some wool to lay Jesse on. As I laid her down, I noticed something strange.

“What the…” As I leaned over to get a closer look, my head spun in disbelief.

Her fingertips… is that cobblestone?!


	2. Chapter Two

JESSE

jesse.

Jesse.

“JESSE!” I jerked up with a shock at the sound of Petra’s panicked voice.

“What happened?” I asked, wincing as my head pounded.

“You passed out as we were walking through the forest. Lluna led me to this cave, but you need to get that armor off. Now.”

“What’s wrong?” I fingered the bottom of the chestplate, but my fingers felt… weird. Numb.

“What the heck?!” I felt light-headed again as I looked down at my grey fingertips. “Is that-”

“Cobblestone, yeah,” Petra said with a grim expression. 

“But, what, how?” I stammered, trying to process. How are my fingers cobblestone? This should be impossible! Fingers don’t just turn grey and tingly!

“I’m guessing that it’s that armor,” Petra said, “which is why you need to get it off right now!”

I grabbed the bottom of the chestplate and started to tug. As I tried to get it off, Lluna spit on my hand.

“Gross,” I muttered, still pulling. It did seem to loosen the armor a little though.  
“Let me help,” Petra said as she started to pull the armor up off me. I winced in pain.

“Ow, ow, stop!” I pulled away and sat with Lluna. “It’s like it’s latched onto me.”

“That’s weird,” Petra said. “How do your fingers feel?”

I flexed experimentally. “Kind of numb?” I said. “Like, they can move but I can’t feel it.” 

Petra stood up and started to rummage through her inventory. “If there’s anybody who could know anything about this-” she pulled out a map to Beacontown- “it’s Harper. The Old Builders have created so much, and she surely knows something about weird… curse things.”

This could be a curse?! 

“Good idea,” I said. “We can also talk with Ivor like we planned when we get the Atlas from the Order Hall. He knows potions and stuff. I felt like I was poisoned when we were walking through the jungle.”

“Then let’s go!” Petra gave me a hand up and, after gathering our stuff, we walked back into the jungle.

“Wait.” Petra stopped and grabbed my hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way Jesse, but maybe you should… take it easy until we know what’s going on. Maybe ride on Lluna?”

“But I can still walk!” I protested, jerking my hand away. “Only my fingertips are- gah!”

I cut off when I felt a searing pain on my hand, followed by a trail of numbness. The cobblestone traveled further and further up my hand, coming to a stop at my wrist. I sucked in a breath, sweating buckets, then looked back at Petra.

“Maybe I should ride Lluna to Beacontown,” I conceded. Petra looked worriedly at me, so I added: “but only because you want me to.” I don’t want her to be scared for me.

I swung onto Lluna’s back and threaded my fingers into her fur. As Petra led Lluna through the jungle, it felt like there were eyes on us all the way to Beacontown.

 

PETRA

“JESSE! PETRA! You’re back!”

As we entered the gates of Beacontown, crowds of people surrounded Jesse and I. We began to navigate our way through the crowd, high-fiving and fist-bumping anyone who came up to us. Whenever I looked back at Jesse, I saw that she had hopped off of Lluna and casually hid her stone hand.

“It’s so great to see everyone!” she said beaming.

“Has anyone seen Ivor?” I asked. We were pointed towards the Order Hall, so we headed that way. As we walked, Jesse turned to me with a bemused expression.

“Isn’t it weird that we haven’t seen Radar or Lukas yet?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “As the leaders, you’d think they’d be around here somewhere.”

As the gates of the Order Hall lifted, I saw a crouching figure that looked like Ivor in front of a new picture. Radar and Lukas were putting flower pots on the side, kind of like how they were by Reuben’s memorial.

“Hey guys!” Jesse ran towards the trio with arms outstretched. Ivor’s jaw dropped when he saw us, Lukas whooped in delight, and Radar immediately scooped Jesse in a hug. I caught up to her and greeted everyone with fist bumps.

“How’ve you been?” I asked.

“Not much has happened,” Lukas said. “It’s been pretty boring since you left.”

“Boring?! It’s been crazy!” Radar squawked. “So many people have created awesome builds! We’ve had a couple issues with community disagreements about safety levels of certain builds-”

“Radar?”

“-but I think that in the end the decision to create the Lava Walk is safer for everyone AND the Magma Club gets to build with as much lava as they want! Oh! We also got a new visitor named Aidan who said something about wanting to redeem himself? Kinda weird, but-”

“Radar…”

“-but now the Beacontown Times is the best news outlet here! Also, Stacy and Stampy Cat expanded their cake and pie business, and they also created this really cool escape room called the ‘White Pumpkin Mansion.’ The first time I went through, I nearly ran out screaming! But now it’s one of the biggest-”

“RADAR!”

“Ah! Sorry,” Radar jumped. “but it’s just so awesome that you’re back!”

“Nice armor, by the way,” Lukas said.

“Good to see you too,” Jesse said, “but-”

“-But we’re only visiting.” I finished. “We need to get Ivor’s opinion on something.”

“But we should totally hang out before we leave!” Jesse said. “Ivor, how were your travels? Did you find the rest of the Order?”

With Jesse’s words, the energy of the room completely dropped. Radar whimpered, Ivor sighed, and Lukas kind of drooped.

“I… kind of.” Ivor sighed again and gestured to the new picture. “I need to talk to you about something too.”

“Is that…” Jesse trailed off.

“Soren?” I asked.

Ivor nodded solemnly.

“Maybe Ivor should tell you what happened somewhere more private,” Lukas said. “Not many people know what really happened-”

“But I trust you.” Ivor interrupted. “Let’s go to my lab.”

Is Soren dead? I thought as I followed Jesse to Ivor’s basement potion lab. 

As we sit together, Ivor drops the bomb. “Soren’s dead.”

“What? How?” Jesse sputters as I say, “I’m so sorry for you.”

“It’s okay,” Ivor mutters. “We were building a monument for him in the Hall.”

“How did it happen?” Jesse asked. “He was so skilled.”

“He was cursed,” Ivor said bluntly. “He found some helmet in a temple in the woods and it turned him to stone.”

I gasped and Jesse’s hand flew to her mouth. I saw Jesse sit on her stone hand but Ivor was too preoccupied to notice.

“I had journeyed to the Far Lands looking for Gabriel when I saw a house made of quartz and iron- Soren’s hallmark. I figured, ‘maybe Soren knows where Gabriel is,’ so I knocked on the door! But when it opened, I saw Soren lying on a bed, completely grey, and Gabriel had opened the door! When I came in, Gabriel told me that Soren had turned into a statue of diorite because of some armor!”

“What- how- do you know how it happened?” Jesse stammered.

“I do, actually,” Ivor said. “Gabriel told me that he found Soren and they were adventuring together when they found a mysterious helmet! It had a note on it that said ‘the Armor of the Assassin.’ When Soren put it on, he started acting like he was poisoned, but then he started to turn into cobblestone! Gabriel said that he became more and more cobblestone, but was still able to move. However, once the stone reached his head he turned into a statue of diorite!” While Ivor talked, I noticed Jesse turning pale with shock.

“Wow, that’s terrible,” I murmured. “We actually-”

“-ACTUALLY have never seen anything like that!” Jesse interrupted, talking fast and high-pitched. “Boy, that sure is crazy! Poor Soren! Hypothetically though, do you think there’s any way he could have stopped it?”

“No way!” Ivor snapped. “Soren was an incredible scholar, and if HE didn’t know how to stop it, I don’t think anyone could! Wait,” Ivor looked at us suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason!” Jesse chirped. “Just curious!”

“Well... alright then,” Ivor said. “I just hope that there aren’t any more of those things lying around in other temples. The way it was planted right where Soren could find it- it makes me think this Assassin is still out there. Promise you’ll be careful adventuring, okay?”

“Okay, we will!” Jesse grabbed my hand, pulled me out the door, and then slammed it hard. “Petra, if what he’s saying is true-”

“You could die?” I finished. Jesse grimaced. 

“Why would Jesse die?” I turned around with a shock and saw Lukas and Radar standing with confused expressions. Instantly, Jesse was all smiles again.

“It’s fine, it’s nothing-”

“We’re just-” I interrupted- “-just visiting a dangerous world through the portal hallway and we’re… joking! About… death by puppies?”

“That’s right!” Jesse added. “I could... die! By PUPPIES!”

“Ah- okay,” Lukas said. “Best of luck.”

“Watch out for those… puppies!” Radar said. 

We laughed and waved good-bye. Jesse ran to get the Atlas and the portal key from the Order Hall, and I went to our supply room to grab some extra food and weapons. 

I really hope Harper’s got an answer for us, I thought as I grabbed some beef from a furnace. Jesse can’t die, she just can’t!

When we re-grouped, Jesse had gotten Lluna back from where we had stabled her and we were ready to go to the Old Builder’s temple. As we left Beacontown and followed the path, I noticed that sometime while we were getting ready, the stone on her hand had crawled further up her arm, and now stopped just below her elbow.


	3. Chapter Three

JESSE

Once we reached the Portal Hallway, I opened the Atlas and spoke.

“Take us to Crown Mesa.”

The strands of blue light tugged me towards the familiar redstone portal with Petra and Lluna trailing behind. As I walked toward the portal, Petra grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” She said. “Last time we saw Harper, she said she was going to try new inventions to ‘help’ Crown Mesa. What if they got out of control like PAMA did?”

“Then we’ll defeat them again,” I said, turning back to the portal. “We’ve done it before.”

With that, I stepped through the frame.

I was pleasantly surprised to step onto a quartz platform instead of falling into a pile of sand. In front of me was one of Harper’s automatons. I pressed the button and a message played as Petra and Lluna appeared through the portal.

“Welcome to Crown Mesa, the Automated Marvel led by the illustrious Harper, our Redstone Genius! Follow the path to your right to reach the main town.”

I looked back at Petra, who shrugged. “Seems fine so far.”

We began to walk down the path. People worked in sugarcane fields nearby. Looks like the people are fine, I thought. I don’t see any creepy chipped mobs either.

We reached the staircase leading up to Crown Mesa and were greeted by more people. They stabled Lluna for us and when we asked where we could find Harper, we were directed up to a large quartz platform. A scarily familiar quartz platform in front of a giant screen.

As we walked up the steps, Petra grabbed my hand tightly. Last time we were here, things didn’t go too well. It didn’t help that there was still a machine that looked like the “chipper” that Petra had been shoved into. 

“My job is to be useful. I have completed my job here and must be allowed to expand and continue to be useful. Unfortunately, our conversation has not been helpful.”

Petra squeezed my hand, jolting me back to the present. She had a pained expression on her face. She must be thinking of PAMA, too.

“Hey,” I turned her face towards mine. “Even if this is as bad as PAMA, we can take it down. We’ve done it before. And this time, I won’t let it take you.”

She smiled sadly. “Thanks, Jesse. That’s… a nice thing to say.”

We jumped as the screen turned on, flashing a familiar creepy smiley face in front of us. 

“Welcome to Crown Mesa!” the face said. “I am ALA. Greetings! Step into the Location Pod and I will find the person you seek.”

“What do you think?” Petra asked. “Could be a trap.”

“I’m just going to try it,” I said. “If it turns out to be… you know, like PAMA, just splash some water in my face. You have a water bottle, right?”

“Yup.” Petra pulled one out.

I stepped into the machine, bracing myself. A block slowly rose above me. My heart began to pound as I heard the machine whir, and then slam over my head. 

My vision went black.

 

PETRA

“Jesse!” As the block crashed over her head, I waited for the tell-tale hiss that meant a redstone chip was put on her head. My hands began to sweat as one second, then five, then ten passed and nothing happened. Yet the block still didn’t rise. “Jesse?”

“It’s ok!” I heard her say. “It’s just a map thing, like the headset Harper made to control PAMA’s mobs. It’s showing me the way to Harper’s house!”

The block over Jesse’s head rose slowly, and revealed her looking totally normal. “Harper’s house is just behind the mesa the screen is built into.”

I ran to her as soon as she stepped out of the machine, patting her over to make sure she was ok. 

“It’s okay, I’m fine Petra,” she tried to say, but I needed to make sure. I spun her around to check the back of her head. I threaded my fingers through her hair and felt the top of her neck. No chip, no scar.

“Petra,” Jesse shoved me away lightly. “I’m really okay. Nothing happened.”

“Fine.” I took a breath and tried not to look at her face. “Let’s go.”

I followed Jesse around the mesa to Harper’s house, where she greeted us with a warm welcome and cookies. Once we settled in, Jesse explained about the armor. When she was done, Harper leaned back in her chair looking worried.

“You’ve got quite the dilemma on your hands, Jesse,” Harper murmured. “I’ve heard of only one way to fix something like this, but it’s dangerous.” 

“We can handle it,” Jesse said firmly. “You know what all we’ve done already.”

“If you say so…” Harper sighed and pulled out a recipe. “This is the recipe for the Potion of Restoration. It has very specific ingredients and most of them are challenging to get.”

I took the paper and read the list of ingredients. “Let’s see- ‘A pearl of ender fresh from its realm, an item of extreme personal connection, and a golden ghast tear that-’”

“‘-that only appears in the time of utmost peril?’” Jesse finished. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Harper shrugged. “It might not even exist.”

“No.” I stored the recipe in my pocket and grabbed Jesse’s hand. “If there’s even a small chance this potion is legit, we have to take it.” I turned to Jesse. “You have to take this.”

“Don’t worry, I plan to,” Jesse said, standing up. “Thanks for this, Harper. I owe you.”

“Anytime, Jesse,” Harper replied. “You know where to find me.”

After we picked up Lluna from the stable and got back to the Order Hall, I began to look through all the treasure we had collected for some personal object we could use. 

“So what kind of personal object do you think you need?” I asked. “All I can think of is stuff like the Redstone Heart and your sword, but you can’t eat swords.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jesse tensed, staring at a very important item frame. 

“It’s got to be Reuben.”


	4. Chapter 4

JESSE

“What?!” Petra cried. “No. No, there’s no way you’re going to eat Reuben. He was your best friend!”

“I know,” I replied, my voice shaky. “That’s why it has to be him.”

I walked up to Reuben’s memorial, memories rolling through my head.

I pressed my hand against Reuben’s porkchop on the item frame. I felt Petra put her hands around me, and that’s when I realized there were tears streaming down my cheeks. I turned and sank into Petra’s arms, sobbing. I felt her hand stroke my hair and heard her whisper things like “shhh, it’s ok, I’m here,” but all I could think of was of Reuben.

I guess I had some private hope that if I kept his pork chop safe, maybe someday he’d be able to return to me… I tightly hugged Petra, then I stood and opened the item frame. But now, that’s never going to happen.

I took Reuben’s pork chop out of the item frame and clenched it tightly. For a moment, I forgot about Petra and Lluna and the curse and the potion and everything except for myself and for Reuben, my dead best friend.

Hey, buddy… I took a deep breath. This may be the last time we talk. I just want you to be safe, even though you aren’t here. Please, I sunk to my knees. Why can’t I just let go?! I can’t just… eat you and be done with it!

“You know, he’d want you to be happy,” Petra broke into my thoughts. 

“Oh crap, did I really say all that outloud?” Petra’s concerned face told me all I needed to know. Lluna rubbed against me and brayed sadly.

I blinked out my tears, wiped my eyes, and then handed Reuben to Petra. “Could you keep track of the, the ingredients? If things get… bad, you’ll need to be ready to craft the potion whenever.”

Petra took Reuben and put him in a pocket. “Of course I will Jesse.” 

I winced as the stone burned further up my arm, stopping almost at my shoulder. Petra gave me a concerned look, but I turned away.

I took a deep breath and started walking towards the gate of Beacontown. “Let’s go pummel some Enderman.”

 

PETRA

When we reached Soren’s fortress, Jesse stabled Lluna in the mob grinder area after clearing the area.

“We’ll be right back, girl,” she said, scratching her under the chin. I set down a couple of hay blocks to keep her fed and then turned to the chamber that held the End portal.

“I’ll go first,” Jesse said, trying to shove past me to the portal. 

“No.” I ran up the stairs to the portal. “I’ll jump through and then catch you. I don’t want you to hurt yourself any more.”

Before she could protest, I jumped into the nothingness between our world and the End. 

“Uff!” I landed on the hard stone and brushed myself off. As I turned around to hold out my arms, Jesse landed on top of me. Laughing, we untangled ourselves and began to walk around. 

“Keep your eyes down,” I whispered as I grabbed Miss Butter. “I’m going to see if I can find Soren’s fortress- there were tons of Enderman there.”

“Ok…” Jesse said as she snuck behind me. “Be careful.”

She should be careful herself, I thought as I sneaked through obsidian towers towards the quartz staircases. As we tried to stay hidden, it occured to me that we would need to drain the water out of Soren’s house before we could make a base there.

We were almost at Soren’s fortress when I heard a high-pitched scream behind me.

I whirled around and saw that Jesse had collapsed onto the ground, clutching her leg. The Endermen around the area began to howl and teleported near her. I ran towards her, my chest pounding, as the Endermen begin to punch her.

“Jesse!” I cried, shoving through the horde of Enderman that were surrounding her. 

When I finally reached her, she looked as if she was about to pass out from pain. “Hang on, we’re almost there,” I reassured her as I punched Enderman.

I grabbed my water bottle and dumped it at our feet, the water clearing a path to the stairs for us as the Enderman shrieked and teleported away. 

“Petra…” Jesse grabbed my hand. “I don’t… I don’t know if…” 

I bit my lip to keep from crying out when Jesse slammed into my knee as she passed out. I scooped her into my arms and booked it for the stairs.

“Ugh, why did Soren have to love stairs so much?” I grumbled as I ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When I reached the top, I shifted Jesse around one arm and climbed the ladder with the other. 

“Please, if you can still hear me, hold your breath,” I pleaded as I opened the trap door. 

Water rushed out and nearly knocked me off the ladder. However, I hoisted myself over the trap door and began to swim towards the top of the water. 

It was hard work, swimming with one arm holding Jesse. But I figured that if Jesse could do it for me when I had Wither sickness, I could do it for her. I pushed Jesse over the water as I groped for the lever to turn off the water. My chest burned as I felt myself drifting down. I desperately kicked as hard as I could to keep Jesse above water and safe as my hand searched for the lever.

Every fiber of my being was screaming, let her down. save yourself. just let go! I fought against my instinctual urge to survive until my body felt absolutely numb. Black dots spotted my vision when suddenly my hand grabbed the lever. I pulled down fast and sponges popped up from the ground, draining the water from the room. 

As the water lowered, I gasped for breath, making sure to keep Jesse’s head above water until it had all been soaked up. I laid Jesse next to one of the woolen “apple” trees nearby.

Once I got my nervousness under control, I got a better look at Jesse’s leg. 

The stone was slowly and steadily crawling up Jesse’s right leg, stopping just above her knee. As the stone stopped moving, Jesse let out a shuddering breath and relaxed. 

I smoothed the hair out of her face. Her hair is so soft, I noticed. Even wet, it seemed to shine in the light. 

I hesitated, then kissed her forehead before running into Soren’s inner chambers.


	5. Chapter 5

JESSE

I woke to the smell of baking bread. As I rubbed my eyes, Petra tossed me a warm loaf of bread from a crafting table by the “apple tree.” I looked over and saw a bucket of milk next to me.

“Eat up sleepyhead!” She called. “It’s about time you woke up- I almost tossed you in the river!”

I laughed and drank my milk. “Good morning to you too!” This feels nice and familiar.

“How’s the leg feeling?” Petra asked, producing a second loaf of bread for herself.

Oh yeah. That’s new.

“Numb, I guess,” I said. “It doesn’t feel like much of anything, but it can still move.” Then, eager to change the subject, “Where did you get all this food? All I see is wool.”

“I raided Soren’s old house,” Petra said. “You wouldn’t believe all the stuff he’s got!”

“But wasn’t it all flooded last time we came here?” I asked.

“Sponges, Jesse,” Petra said dryly, tossing several wet sponges into the river. “They’re a thing.”

Laughing, I ate my bread. It was warm and tasty, but I indulged in a moment to think of who had brought the wheat to make it to the End. Soren will never be able to taste bread like this again. What were his final moments like?

I clenched the bread tightly and stared at the wall, my stomach turning. Soren’s DEAD because of the curse! I don’t want to die like he did!

“Hey,” Petra looked over at my shaking body. “Are you okay? Has it spread?”

“Not yet,” I mumbled. “I’m just thinking.”

“Of what?”

“It’s nothing…”

“You know you can talk to me- if it’s not the curse then what’s wrong?”

“Petra, I’m really fine…”

“I’m your best friend Jesse, I can tell when something’s up with you. Just tell me what’s affecting you so badly and then I can help.”

“You can’t help, it’s Soren!” I burst out. “He’s dead because of armor like this! I don’t want to die like he did! Turning into a statue of diorite, that’s scary stuff! Cold, alone…”

“Hey, look at me.” I raised my head and looked over at Petra. “Soren wasn’t alone. He had Gabriel and Ivor. You aren’t alone either. You have me. You’ll always have me.” 

I smiled sadly. “Glad I have you during my dying days.”

“Don’t talk like that!” Petra barked at me from the crafting table. “We have something he didn’t! The potion!”

“Crap, you’re right,” I said. “We still have to get a fresh ender pearl.”

“Unnecessary.” Petra fanned out 3 pearls. “Did you already forget where we are? I had to fight like a hundred of them last night to get through to Soren’s kitchen.” Before I could react, Petra had thrown a pearl in my face and appeared on my lap, nose to nose, and… oh.

Petra has gorgeous eyes.

I don’t know why I never noticed how bewitching her eyes were before now. They were the color of dark soil that had just been sprinkled with rain, with flecks of gold like light shining through. Those eyes buried me in the intensity of her gaze, and I understood how she could make people tremble from the power of her look. 

Then the moment passed.

My cheeks burned as I glanced away, rubbing the nape of my neck. Petra blushed even harder then I did and wiggled out of my lap. 

“So-” Petra said, her voice sounding higher than normal. “We should… probably get back to Lluna in Soren’s fortress”

“Yep.” I stood and started to gather materials. “Let’s head back and figure out what to do next.”

When we got back through the End portal and picked up Lluna, we began to walk through a forest to find shelter for the night. 

“So we have our ender pearl,” Petra said, “and we have our personal obj- personal item.” 

“Now we just need the golden ghast tear,” I said. “That’s going to be tough.”

“Especially considering we don’t know where it is.”

“Yeah…”

We found a cave with a big enough space to stable Lluna and began to settle down. As I stood crafting torches for the night, a thought began to form.

If the golden ghast tear only appears at a time of utmost peril, then we won’t be able to find it just standing around. I need to go and put myself in trouble to trigger the tear!

I helped set up our camp, and when Petra turned around to start crafting food and new tools, I grabbed my sword and crept out of the cave.

All right monsters, I thought as I ran into the dark trees, come and get me!

 

PETRA

“Good news Jesse,” I called from the crafting table. “We’ve got enough iron to make a decent ax! Now we can stop punching tre-”

I cut myself off when I turned around and saw Jesse was gone.

“Jesse?” I searched all around the cave, growing increasingly frantic. “Jesse?! Okay, this isn’t funny anymore!” 

I ran to where she set up her chest and started throwing items out as fast as I could. Yep, her sword’s gone. But she didn’t take any food? What is she thinking?!

As I rummaged, I felt Lluna come up behind me. 

“Did you see where she went, girl?” Lluna brayed and then turned towards the cave exit.

I jumped onto her back. “Can you take me to her? Sniff out her armor?”

Lluna brayed again and took off into the forest. As she ran out the exit of the cave, I grabbed Miss Butter.

We rode for what felt like hours. As the forest grew darker, I pulled out torches and started planting them behind us, keeping the monsters at bay. Soon I heard a familiar high-pitched shriek.

“Jesse!” I cried. Was that a battle cry… or pain?

I dug my heels into Lluna’s side and she ran even faster. We came up upon a dark figure fighting spiders on all sides. One jumped onto her back and pinned her on the mossy ground, while 3 more surrounded her, ready to pounce. She screamed in pain as the spider’s claws dug into her back.

“Jesse, look out!” I leaped off Lluna and swung into action. As Jesse swiped at a spider in front of her, I carved a path of spider eyes as my sword hit monster after monster. After all the spiders were dead, I planted a circle of torches and whirled around to face Jesse, seething.

“What the hell were you thinking??”

“I had it under control!” Jesse threw her sword against the grass, her face red and blotchy. “I was trying to get the golden tear to appear!”

“So you kill yourself trying to not die?!”

“I told you, I had it under con-”

“The only thing you were under was a spider!”

“That was the point!”

“What would've happened if I didn’t get here in time?!” I shouted, clenching and unclenching my fists. “I don’t see any tear!”

“Maybe it would've-”

“Jesse, all that would’ve happened is you would've died!”

“Would that be such a bad thing?!” Jesse shouted back. I stopped and turned back at her.

“What are you saying?”

“This curse… If we can’t find the tear, I’m going to die anyways! So why not take the craziest risks to get the tear that might kill me faster? It’s better than the coward’s way out.”

For the first time, I noticed the barely contained tears in her eyes, and the note in her hand.

“Jesse…” 

She was trembling as she sat down and held out the note.

“I got shot at right before the spiders appeared. Read it.”

I took it and read it as she buried her head in her hands.

“Greetings Jesse, Slayer of the Witherstorm; the Old Builder’s Downfall; the Last Admin’s Reckoning. I am the Assassin. When my curse is finally finished, you’ll be gone from this world, with no way to stop people from seeing you as you truly are. A coward who can’t even save her own life. Everybody likes you… and you’re nothing. Those you have failed curse your name. I’d like to sincerely thank you for being so skilled at running away. It assures me of your incompetence, and I know that I will take you out eventually. Until we meet again, the Assassin.”

I stumbled a step back, and Jesse reached out and grabbed my hand. I shook my head a little and leaned down to her. 

“This letter may be… I don’t know, but none of it is true,” I told her. “This… Assassin is just trying to scare you.”

“But see, that’s where you’re wrong,” Jesse said. “Cassie Rose, Aidan and the Blaze Rods, and Romeo will never see their homes again because of me.” 

“Do you seriously blame yourself for those jerks? That wasn’t your faul-”

“Listen, I can’t save my own life, look at me, I’m DYING.”

My mind went totally blank- I couldn’t think of anything to say. 

Lluna apparently could, because she brayed loudly and scooped Jesse onto her back. Lluna ran into the forest, leaving me to grab our swords and charge after them, questions swirling through my head... 

This Assassin is alive and real? And they’re targeting Jesse? Why didn’t I say anything to make her feel better? Why did Lluna run away?

I have to fix this. I can’t lose her.


	6. Chapter 6

JESSE

“Wagh!” I struggled to get my bearings as Lluna ran faster and faster through the forest. When I finally managed to sit up, Lluna came to a stop in front of a modest wooden cabin. I slid off Lluna’s back and heard Petra come up behind me. I noticed a sign on the door.

“Benedict’s House of Safety?” I read. 

“Think this is legit, Jesse?” Petra asked.

I opened the door and peeked in. It seemed like a normal house. “I hope so,” I said. “I wouldn’t mind a break from dingy caves.” 

We walked in, and Lluna ran into a room with many llama blankets. She plopped down and immediately fell asleep. 

Laughing, Petra and I walked through the halls and found a bedroom. “You sit down,” Petra said, turning back to the hallway, “and I’ll look for some food or something.” 

“Okay,” I said, sitting on the bed. Whoever “Benedict” is, I’m sure he won’t begrudge us a little rest. I stretched out my stone leg and listened to Lluna’s soft snores in the other room. “Gah!”

I winced as a searing pain began to spread on my back. As the pit in my stomach dropped, I craned my neck behind me and confirmed my fear- the curse was spreading to my back. As the stone cooled, I felt the now-familiar numbness and weight. 

When will that ghast tear appear? I heaved a sigh. Would it ever?

I leaned back against the pillow and took in my surroundings a bit more. It was a modest wooden hut, not unlike my old treehouse, I realized with a jolt. With Lluna snoring in the other room and the humble furnishings around me, I could almost pretend- if I closed my eyes- that we could go back to how life was before. Before the Witherstorm. Before the Portal Hallway. Before the Admin.

As tears began to brim, I silently recounted all of the destruction that’s happened since Endercon, where it all began.

Beacontown. Magnus. Boom Town. Sky City. TorqueDawg. CaptainSparklez. DanTDM. Crown Mesa. Sunshine Institute. The Oasis. Fred’s Keep. Romeoburg. Xara. Champion City. Reuben…

Sweet, loyal, innocent Reuben…

The tears fell freely now. It just never ends. There’s always some new threat that has to be dealt with. The Assassin is right- I’m never able to let my guard down or I’ll fail even more.

“Hey Jesse, I found some food-” Petra walked in holding cake and a carrot. Seeing the carrot just made me cry harder. Petra ran to the bed and sat with me, rubbing my trembling back. “What’s wrong, is the curse getting worse?”

“Kind of,” my voice cracked. “It’s just… what if the golden ghast tear never appears? We’ve been through so much, and- and a lot of it has been pretty perilous. What if ‘utmost peril’ has already happened?”

“Don’t think like that-”

“I have to!” I sat up and turned around. “Look.”

Petra gasped when she saw my stone back.

“Think of the Witherstorm,” I sniffed. “That was crazy. So many people nearly died.” I glanced over at the carrot Petra had set on the dresser. “And Reuben…” Silent tears streamed down my face. “Think of the Hallway. Of Sky City. The White Pumpkin. PAMA. You almost died in Crown Mesa!”

Petra’s hand stilled, and I noticed her unconsciously finger the scar on the back of her skull where she’d been chipped.

“The situation was pretty dire with the Old Builder’s games. And the whole mess with the Admin…” I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I’ll be dead before the ghast tear appears!”

She held me tight as the tears flowed. As I felt Petra squeeze a little bit tighter, I suddenly realized, This won’t just be the end for me. I’ll be leaving Petra behind.

“Jesse.” Petra raised my chin so our eyes were level. “I’m not gonna try and tell you that you’re wrong, because you might very well have a point. But all I want to say is that even if we never find the golden ghast tear, I’m glad that we’re together until the end.”

My eyes started to edge with new tears.

“But-” Petra continued- “I believe that in the morning, we can continue looking and that we’ll find it. We’ll beat this.”

Petra wiped my eyes as I began to eat the cake that she brought.

“Thank you, Petra,” I said.

“Do you want me to stay with you tonight?”

“Oh, sure!” I said, blushing. I settled myself on the bed and scooched over, making room for Petra.

“Goodnight,” Petra whispered as she laid down next to me.

I found her hand and held it tight. “Thank you for… helping me through this.”

“Just don’t die on me, okay?” Petra squeezed my hand.

As I drifted off to sleep, I thought of how ocelots fall asleep holding hands. 

 

PETRA

The night was long. I tried to fall asleep, but sleep never came to me. I laid awake for hours until I felt Jesse trembling beside me. She was whimpering, but I couldn’t quite hear what she was saying. Her face had turned red in panic.

“Shh,” I murmured. “I’m here, it’s ok, you’re safe.” 

I snuggled closer to her, pulling her into my arms. I felt her body still, and heard a small sigh escape. Her face softened and the blush cooled down to a sweet rosy glow. I smiled to myself and drifted off.

When I woke up the next morning, Jesse was softly snoring. I eased myself out of the bed and snuck to the kitchen, looking for some pumpkin pie to surprise Jesse with. I searched through the chests in the kitchen and eventually found one single pie. 

I hope she hasn’t woken up yet, I thought as I meandered down the hallway back to the bedroom. 

When I walked through the door it was like walking into an entirely different building.

The wooden walls had been replaced with iron and netherrack. The floor had turned to mud. I dropped the pie in surprise as a ring of fire appeared as soon as I walked through the door. The door- now iron- slammed shut behind me. And Jesse was gone.

“Jesse?!” I shouted, running into the room. “Where are you?!”

“She’s gone,” a voice from behind me growled. A scarily familiar voice. 

“Lukas?!” I whirled around to face Lukas, who suddenly appeared behind me holding an enchanted diamond sword. “What are you doing here?”

He grinned, and then ran at me with the sword raised. 

“Whoa!” I clumsly drew Miss Butter to deflect the strike just in time. 

“I can’t believe you just left Jesse on her own,” Lukas said, swiping at me with his sword.

“What?”

“When you left us behind in Beacontown,” Lukas said while jabbing towards my chest, “I finally saw who you really were. A manipulative freak who couldn’t leave well enough alone.”

I blocked a sword to the chest, barely understanding what Lukas was saying.

“I followed you and Jesse to pick you off, waiting until Jesse left you like we all should’ve a long time ago.”

Lukas knocked the sword out of my hand and shoved me to the ground. 

What is going on?

“You do realize that none of us really liked you, right?” Lukas grumbled as he pointed the sword in my face. “We just put up with you because you have connections.”

My chest became tight and I dug my hands into the ground below me, trying to process what he was saying.

“Jesse will be better off without you holding her back.”

“No…” Tears burned my eyes as I clenched my fists. “That’s… you’re… NO!”

“No?” Lukas kneeled down and pressed the sword against my throat. “I assure you, everything I say is the truth. You’re just denying. Denying and denying so you can keep those you love close without even thinking about whether or not they want to stay close.”

“DON’T SAY THAT!” I sobbed. “YOU DON’T GET THE RIGHT!” 

I grabbed the sword and threw it out of my face.

“How can you talk about turning evil when you did that yourself?!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face. “Don’t… you… DARE!”

I grabbed the first thing I could from the ground- a wad of pie, and threw it at Lukas, hoping to distract him. What I didn’t expect was Lukas to disintegrate and a recording to begin playing.

“Congratulations, Player Two! You have completed the first challenge! Please wait for your companion by the door!”

...what?

A door rose from the ground, and with it I heard the sound of crying. It sounded like-

“JESSE!” I kicked down the door and found myself in a room of mirrors. Jesse was lying on the floor pleading for voices to stop. In the mirrors I saw people from all our adventures mouthing words. 

I started to throw cobblestone at all of the mirrors until they had all shattered and a door popped up from the floor.

I wiped my eyes. I have to be strong for her, I thought as I grabbed Jesse and pulled her towards the door.

“Pe-Petra?” she stuttered, and clung to my arm.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said and pulled her through the door.


	7. Chapter Seven

JESSE

Petra and I stumbled through the door into the next chamber- a large tower room- and gasped for breath as Petra slammed the door. I took a step back, blinded by the bright blue walls compared to the dark mirrored hell we’d just escaped. I turned and threw myself into her arms, desperate for some, any connection. She held me tightly and I released a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Petra pushed me back a little and stared into my eyes.

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong, Jesse,” she said. “Stop focusing on the few people we lost and think of everyone you’ve saved!”

I sniffed and wiped my eyes. “How? How do I put that behind me, Petra?”

“Well,” she said, “you don’t have to forget about it forever.” She took my hand and squeezed it tight. “Just don’t let it consume you.”

“Thanks, Petra.”

Petra smiled at me and started to walk towards the next room. 

“Wait,” I stopped her. “Do you want to talk about your mirrors? That was terrifying.”

“Well…” Petra turned away and crossed her arms. “It wasn’t mirrors, exactly. It was more like… an illusion?”

“What kind of illusion?” 

“The scary kind.”

“Petra, you know you can tell me anything.”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes!” I walk towards her and put my hand on her shoulder. “Let me help, like you just helped me.”

“Fine!” Petra said. “It just… it was, it was Lukas. He attacked me and said… you didn’t… didn’t want me around. That it’d be better for you if I… stayed away.”

She turned back at me and faked a smile, but I could see the pain in her eyes.

“You know I would never let you go,” I laced her fingers through mine. “You’re too important to me.”

She blushed as we walked towards the next door. 

“Congratulations!” We turned around slowly at the sound of slow clapping. A figure clad in all black armor and a yellow mask leered at us.

That voice sounds familiar…

“You’ve made it to Stage Two of my Fun House! The games can truly begin now!”

“Wait a- all of those horrible things we saw, the illusions-” Petra stammered. “those were all your sick idea of games?!”

Games.

It can’t be.

“Petra,” I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Be careful-”

“No!” Petra tugged away from me and turned to the man. “Do you have any idea how badly those last so-called ‘challenges’ affected us? Affected Jesse?! Who gave you the right to do this kind of thing?!”

“Petra-”

“What did we ever do to you anyway?!”

“What did YOU do to ME?” The man grumbled and then clapped his hands.

“GAH!” I wailed as pain radiated all through me. The stone started to burn a lot faster along my body. I fell to my knees as my head pounded.

“Jesse!” Petra ran to my side, then turned back to the man. “What the hell have you done to her? Who do you think you are?!”

I vaguely registered the sound of llama hooves behind me, heading towards the man.

“You might recently have known me as the Assassin.” Lluna and the figure began to pulsate with a strange red light. I thought it was just my dizziness until I saw Petra’s look of utter shock. “But you know me by a different, much older name. A name perhaps you hope you'd never hear again.” 

“Is that-?” Petra gaped at the figures glowing red. The figures grew brighter and brighter until they merged into one that had been a fixture of my nightmares. 

“It is I, Romeo, the Last Admin!” the red & black figure proclaimed.

“Wha-huh-how-what?” Petra stammered. I only grimaced as the numbness of stone spread from my arms and legs to my chest.

“I’m sure you have loads of questions for me.” Romeo smirked. “Well, my greatest work will take a little more time to destroy you, so…” He clapped his hands, and Petra and I began to float. 

“Wagh!” Petra flailed her arms in a panic. She turned to grab my hand, but I felt nothing. The intense pain all throughout me made it hard to concentrate on anything else.

“I think I’ll answer a few.” 

 

ROMEO

I conjured a birchwood bench for Jesse and Petra. I cracked my neck. Time to go.

I knew that I had both of their attentions from the moment I revealed myself. Ever-suspicious Petra, always quick to attack, was sitting gaping at me. Precious Jesse, special Jesse, famous warrior and trusting to a fault. She’s leaning against Petra, staring at me with an utterly crushed expression. Serves her right.

“After you defeated me with that pesky gauntlet of yours, I tried my hand at being a better friend to the people of Romeoburg and the Oasis. But they were so… needy. I thought it was just your friends that were clingy. But no. I felt stifled. I knew that I could become great again, do great things, if only I had my powers again.”

“But how did you-”

“Bloody hell, Jesse!” I quickly summoned a scarf and it wrapped around Jesse’s mouth. “I’ve written out a monologue and memorized it for this very occasion and if you interrupt me again I’ll turn you to stone immediately!”

I took a deep breath to calm myself down, then tried to begin again.

“Now where was I?”

“If only you had your powers.” Petra grumbled, trembling.

“Ah, yes. If only I had my powers again. So I travelled back to the Overworld. And guess what I found in your treasure hall?” I withdrew my hand from behind me, revealing my shiny new golden gauntlet. Now pause, for dramatic effect… 

“Crud,” breathed Petra.

“This gauntlet, it didn’t just take my powers away,” I continued, “It stored them. Imbibing the wielder with marvelous powers, only fit for the likes of, well, me. As soon as I fit my hand into its waiting grip, my powers were restored to me! So I pranced about as your, whatta-you-call-it, ‘treasure-sniffing llama,’ and led you to your downfall.”

I chuckled as I took a moment to appreciate the look of shock on Jesse’s face. All my work had been worth it.

“But why are you hunting Jesse? Haven’t you done enough?!” Petra shouted.

“Dhkjadg!” I clench my fists and sent stone flying around the room. “Because SHE tricked me!” I pointed a shaking gold finger at Jesse.

“You told me that people would like to see me! You never said I’d need to earn their friendship! I like it much better when people do things for me without expecting any payback! Life is supposed to be fun! A game! Where the winners-” I pointed to myself- “win, and the losers-” I pointed to the two pathetic figures in front of me- “are supposed to lose.”

With a flick of my wrist, I removed Jesse’s scarf. I definitely wanted to hear the last words she uttered before becoming a perfect statue of diorite.


	8. Chapter 8- The Finale

JESSE

“What happened to… to Lluna?” I stutter.

“What?!” Romeo flies right into my face. “You’re about to die and you’re worried about the stupid llama?”

“Don’t call her stupid!” With a heaving effort, I raise one of my hands and punch him in the face, my hands radiating with pain.

“Ugh!” Romeo claps his hands and the chairs supporting Petra and I disappear, leaving us to fall to the ground. 

“Ow!” Petra cries. I wait to feel more pain, but my freshly-stone lower half remains numb. What is more concerning, though, are the bits of cobble that break off my body from the impact.

“Jesse!” Petra runs to my side.

“Well,” Romeo dusts himself off, “if you really must know, I simply poisoned the llama while you were asleep one night! You should really take better care of your pets, seeing how they tend to end up.”

My shoulders slump and my breath becomes shaky. I vaguely hear Petra yelling at Romeo to take it back, but he’s right.

I couldn’t save Lluna, just like I couldn’t save Reuben. My head pulsates in pain as I feel stone creep along the edges of my head.

I can’t even save myself.

“Jesse! The ghast tear!” Petra points above my head, where a golden glow is forming. I grab it, and the golden ghast tear materializes in my hand. I toss it to Petra and she runs to a nearby crafting table. “Just hang in there while I craft these into the Restoration potion!” 

I nod, then turn to Romeo, who’s floating above me with a cross expression.

“You are much more resilient than you look,” Romeo snarls. “The curse should’ve consumed you by now!”

With a great effort, I stand and smile. “Shouldn’t you know by now that I don’t give up easily?”

“D’argh!” Romeo swoops down and pins me to the wall.

“Ah!” Cracks of stone are falling from my body as Romeo slams me against the wall again and again. He’s shouting incoherently with rage, but an idea begins to niggle at me. 

Romeo said that the Gauntlet was the source of his power now, so I just need to get it off of him and we’ll be in the clear!

Romeo throws me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. I struggle to stand as Romeo cackles at me.

“Don’t you ever learn?” he sneers. “You’ve tried to fight me again and again and again, and yet you fail. You’ve never done anything by yourself- even when you were a powerful adventurer, you couldn’t take the Old Builders down without the help of your friends. How do you alone plan to defeat ME?”

I smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

I charge and bowl Romeo over. With the weight of my almost completely stone body on him, he flails around beneath me, apparently too shocked to teleport away.

“Say goodbye to your gauntlet,” I say, grabbing the gauntlet.

“No!” Romeo and I grapple for control of the gauntlet. My fingers are getting too stiff for this! I start to panic and try to grip the gauntlet even harder.

With a great effort, I give a final yank and wrest the gauntlet from Romeo’s hand. 

“Aagh!” Romeo’s appearance begins to change to his true self. I sit up slowly and draw my sword.

“Wait! Wait, give me another chance!” Romeo cries, bracing for the impact.

“I’m so sorry it had to end this way,” I say, plunging my sword into his chest. As Romeo dies, inventory explodes all around me, seeming like it will never end.

“Is he dead?” Petra yells from the crafting table. “That could stop the curse, right?”

“Wrong- augh!” I yelp as pain enveloped me. I fall to the ground, my head spinning. 

“Jesse!” Petra cries. “Just hang on, I’m almost done!”

“Hanging… on…” I groan. I feel the stone creep farther and farther into my face. With the adrenaline from the fight with Romeo, I’d almost forgotten just how painful the sped-up curse was.

I try to crawl towards Petra, but my legs are becoming scarily still. I must be becoming encased in diorite, like Soren! I think, panicking.

“Petra!” I cry, flailing my arms on the ground “Is the potion any more done?”

“I’m placing the last ingredient, Jesse!” Petra calls. “Then I’m running over to you!” Her voice sounds strange. Like it’s coming through a tunnel.

I try again to crawl to Petra, but I collapse and fall on my face. I can’t move!

“Wee wee wee!” I raise my head in surprise. I know that sound…

“Reuben?!” I yelp. He’s… dead! Yet there he is, right in front of me. Glowing. I sit up and get a better look at him, and standing right next to him is Magnus and Soren. Also glowing.

“It’s time for you to go, Jesse,” says Soren, pulling me to my feet.

As I stand, Reuben jumps into my arms, begging to be pet. My laughter mingles with Reuben’s oinks, but on the edge of my consciousness, I hear another sound. A sound of grief, fear, and… love.

Slowly, I set Reuben down and look back up at Soren. 

“Come on, Jesse, we don’t have all day,” Magus says, grabbing my hand.

I pull it away. “What if I don’t want to?

 

PETRA

“I’m placing the last ingredient, Jesse!” I called, trying to mask my shaking voice. “Then I’m running to you!”

I didn’t hear any response from Jesse, which scared me even more. The potion formed agonizingly slow and as soon as it had, I turned around, only to see a terrible sight.

“JESSE!” I cried. I stumbled over Romeo’s fallen inventory, trying to reach her. Trying to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Is she…?

“No,” I breathed. I was right. Jesse’s stone-cold body lay in front of me, now a cracked statue of diorite. I crafted too slow. 

My stomach turned as I stared into her cobblestone eyes. No, not into. At. She can’t look back at me anymore. The potion of Restoration hung loose, useless, from my hands as I collapsed to my knees. 

“Jesse, you better not die on my, not now, not after everything else you survived,” I wailed. “Don’t let this stupid armor take you out!”

I heard the potion bottle shatter as I clinged to Jesse’s body, tears streaming down my face. I felt sick, ready to crumple to the ground and never get up.

“This is all my fault. I never should have left you with Romeo. I should’ve paid more attention to you instead of just crafting. I could’ve helped fight. I could've crafted faster. Oh Jesse, I never should’ve told you that the end could be near!”

I felt a pang in my heart when I thought of last night. “Thank you for… helping me through this.” “Just don’t die on me, okay?” Joking around.

I didn’t even get a chance to tell her how much she means to me.

I wiped my eyes and stared at her now-grey eyes, those eyes, those eyes that had swept me away when I first saw her in the forest all those years ago. Those eyes that would never again meet mine. I caressed her stone cheeks and hugged her stone body tightly. Then jolted back up.

With a shock, I realized I could see her chest moving up and down. Through my watery eyes I could see the grey stone dissipating and the armor with it, purple potion staining her overalls.

Is she...? I took a step back and closed my eyes, not daring to believe. Then I heard a spurt of coughing.

“Jesse?” I knelt by her side.

“Pe-” she coughed- “Petra?” Jesse’s eyes fluttered, and then those beautiful brown pools gazed up at me. “Are you okay?”

“Jesse! You’re alive!” I cried and scooped her into a big bear hug.

We held each other for what felt like forever.

“How did you…”

“I think it was the potion,” Jesse said. “But also… I heard your voice. I was about to leave, with Soren, Magnus and… and Reuben, but I heard you. You called me home.” Then she did something that I never could have anticipated. She kissed me.

“Oh, uh, well, if we’re going to be sappy…” I stammered, then got up my courage. I brought her lips back to mine. 

As she leaned into me, I wondered why I hadn’t done this sooner.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jesse said as we stood to walk out. 

“Hey,” I grabbed Jesse’s hand. “You meant what you said earlier, right?”

“Of course,” she said softly. “You’re much too important to me to let you go.” 

As we left the building, I smiled. I’m glad we have many more adventures ahead of us.


End file.
